Competent and good are not synonyms. Smart and good are not synonyms. Evil and competent are not synonyms. Virtues are not all moral virtues. Bravery is a morally neutral virtue. It makes bad people worse, and good people better and without it all virtues and vices are nearly meaningless. Competence is morally neutral. It is […]

Yesterday my room mate and I met our new neighbor across the hall. She is an extremely kind woman whose cat had just died, and we baked her cookies to extend our condolences. She invited us in for hot chocolate and gave us some of her cats old toys, and we had a very pleasant visit. She was a solid white lady, probably in her seventies and recently widowed. We had a smoke together and she told me about her family back in Chicago. My grandma just died recently and hanging around with her lifted my spirits a great deal.

She also had a book by Bill O’Reilly on her coffee table. Fox news was blaring in plain site on her TV, there was a magnet on her refrigerator that said “God Loves You,” and she had a book about the rapture in her shelf. Yup, white older female, Christian and well within the Tea Party Demographic. I tried for a few seconds to give a shit, and found that I couldn’t.

See, I get people like Beverly-that is her name. I grew up around her. Salt of the Earth folk. Well in my case, salt of the earth stoners, alcoholics and nutcases but I am still proud god dammit. My father’s family came from a small train station town called Urichsville, Ohio. My grandpa beat pipes with hammers and went fishin’ out on Lake Tappan and my dad learned how to play the guitar on a rock overhang next to the lake. He had three brothers and to this day my uncles are still guitar strummin’ hillbilly white trash and don’t you forget it. They even have a band to prove it. It’s called “Bad Idea,” because when they formed it my dad said, “This is a bad idea.” They sing a variety of songs but this is their favorite tune to jam to:

My dad left Urichsville to be an accountant and went to Kent State. He wasn’t handsome or charming but at least he was good with numbers. He traded all that for a yuppy house in the suburbs, plastic surgery and a second wife with a boob job and his conservatism is based on economic rather than social policy, but it comes from a humble place.

My mom has had a hard life and she relies on her faith and friends for support, most of which I have known my whole life. They are good if not misguided people and I do not begrudge them their political and religious differences from me, because in their eyes I am accepted as well.

These people work hard and they are bombarded daily with media that is patriarchal, monotheistic and right wing. The MSM has probably been selling the “this country is center-right” lie since the age of movement conservatism and they do this while selling the issues from a left vs. right perspective that is framed from the “center right.”

To be frank, most people in this country are neither liberal nor conservative, and the number of registered independents proves my point. Every time I get into a discussion of politics with someone, they tell me, “I just want to support whatever works.” That is what we all want, regardless of ideology. Politics should be about making people’s lives better, but most of the time it is turned into a game and it’s purpose is to fill the pockets of the elites. The silliest of Americans understand that.

The Tea Party has it’s origins in populism and since then it has been astroturfed by crazy right wingers. They are running candidates that make me want to hide under my bed and cry. But Americans just want solutions to problems, and the Teabaggers may be telling some of them what they want to hear. They could care less about the kooky religahoon xion flag waving social conservatism even if it’s weird even for them. Loony conservatives in the Republican Party have been saying for years that they want to control women’s uterus’, teach creationism in public schools and put queers on death row but it has never happened (mostly). We have checks and balances in our political system that prevents extremism from being legislated.

Christine O’Donnell makes me whimper, but I want a witchhunt on her platform, not her panini. If I child shows up at my doorstep dressed as Sharon Angle on Halloween I am going to run away screaming but calling a woman a b*tch is unacceptable unless it is meant as a term of endearment. And Sarah Palin makes my left eye twitch sometimes when she says some of the things she says, but putting her on the cover of mother jones as a scantily clad she-monster is taking it a step or two too far. Come on, guys.

That being said, I will never vote for a Tea Party member or a Republican. I am a liberal and I vote for candidates who have earned my vote. The founding fathers did not write the constitution and form the first Democratic Republic in history so I could waste my vote and my free speech on Charlie Crist or Marco Rubio. Are you kidding me with this? And I did not file my tax returns last year so I could vote for Kendrick Meeks, who put a government patent on my uterus when he voted for “HCR” and Stupakistan. Hell no.

Alex Sink seems vote worthy and there are some amendments I have my eye on, but for now I say “none of the above.” America is at a crossroads. We have to decide, in times like this, whether we stick by our principles and only vote for candidates who have earned our vote or we reward those who do not have our best interests at heart and have demonstrated it repeatedly with our tax dollars and our trust.

I’ve made my decision. I might just be plain white trash but liberal is my game. What’s yours?

I wish we had none of the above. Check if there is something like that in your area. If not, check the local regulations of what happens when people either leave slots blank or do write-ins. If write-ins are not counted in any other way, then that’s always a fun option. Mickey Mouse is popular.🙂 Maybe we should have a DandyTiger write-in campaign. No wait, I could win something. On second thought, stick with Mickey Mouse.

Thank you for speaking for all the liberals who come from conservative and humble backgrounds. I disagree with their politics but I am disgusted with “liberals” who condescend to them because of their socioeconomic status.

You should know. What a bunch of hooey. Do really expect anyone to buy this crap? I live every day among “racist, white trash,” and I promise that if they were so inclined to visit here, they would see through these amateur attempts to impersonate rednecks in a heartbeat. Real rednecks respect only one thing: standing up for what you believe. They detest mealy-mouthed suck ups who don’t have the courage of their convictions. If you’re liberal then be proud and don’t try to pretend that you understand a lifestyle that you have no clue about. If you’re not, then consider some serious acting classes or better teacher-trolls.

We’re not all from humble backgrounds. We like diversity of opinion. The point is not where you come from. It is what you believe. And in that respect, DandyTiger’s point of view is just as valid even if he is disabled by what appears to be an affluent background.
For all I know, he could be putting us in and he’s really a chai walla in Mumbai. How would we know?
Anyway, we’re on the same side no matter where we originated.

What the heck is this about? Redneck is some label that people ascribe to those who work out in the fields or do hard work in the sun, country folk. I have extended family members who were farmers, my great grandparents were farmers. But the rest were probably what you would call standard lower middle class trying to move up to upper class professional jobs, and due to their hard work roots did their own house repairs. Catholic church goers who volunteered our neighborhood.

But does this preclude us from having grown up poor? Real poor, eating dandelions from the backyard (before it became a trend of health nuts) poor. But I knew even poorer people who still had outhouses. You know it was the farmers, chicken in every pot yearners, who supported FDR. Had pictures in their houses of him. My grandparents still had theirs. So you would consider these people what then? All they wanted was a person in power who cared about their livelihood.

BTW, in WI it was the farmers who considered themselves the progressives here.

RCM did put “liberal” in quotation marks for the condescending ones, so maybe s/he meant “Fauxgressives”–people who call themselves “progressive” and think they’re liberal, even though their political positions–especially on economics–put them to the right of the moderate Republicans of the 1970s.

Excellent rant–thank you. I also come from conservative and humble roots. I live in FL also and did vote for Alex Sink. She is the only D I voted for and it’s because Rick Scott is going to deregulate (even more) for developers and I’m sick of developers paving Florida.

You hit all the right notes on this topic.
Beverly is just like most of the country. She is not unusual, she is us.

You know, everybody just Loves Mayberry…until they actually go and see real Mayberry. Unemployment and rusted cars in the driveway is not in the glossys.
Hillary got this, O does not.
Say, I just watched a video of Frank Caprio, who O dissed by announcing the WH would not be endorsing Caprio.
The anchor was trying to bait him, but the man kept on message. ( link on Hill is 44)
BTW, Pres. Clinton is headed there to campaign for Mr Caprio.
I find it all so interesting.
Mr Caprio supported Hillary in 08.
He beamed when the interviewer asked if he supported Hill in 08.
I like this guy.
I sent him an email and made a small donation.
I refuse to fund the DNC or any party crappola. I am sending thanks straight to those who speak out and do the right things.

This is something to watch. If Caprio wins with Big Dawg’s support and Obama-befriended Chaffee loses, this will become the opening round of HIllary’s 2012 campaign.

Under other circumstancs, Chaffee wouldn’t be a bad choice. He’d likely caucus with the dems, as does Bernie Sanders, and vote with them almost all, if not all, the time. When he left the Senate, he was pretty much the last living half-way liberal Republican.

The interviewer is Meredith Viera, formerly from The View. She’s a rabbid Clinton hater. When the Clintons left the WH and bought a house in Viera’s general neighborhood in NY she vowed to move out — and actually did about the time the Clintons moved in.

Morgan Griffith says I have Congress’s most radical pro abortion proponent with a radical abortion agenda in my mailer. Who knew?

My vote is going to Boucher. He got my neighbor who is on a very limited income due to disability Section 8 assistance and helped her so she could get her seizure meds without having to come up with $60 a month. He didn’t vote for health care and apparently he’s a radical pro choicer😉

you’re lucky ~ my congress critter Periello is running ads touting his support for the “sanctity of life” and listing all the ways he isn’t a typical democrat. Unfortunately for him I wrote several letters per week re: the HCRA vote and he voted for it anyway. me no votey this time unless I can find a green candidate.

Periello is funding a visit by Obama to C’ville tomorrow. People who want to be there have to stand (no seats provided) for about 4 hours to see the OPrecious. Kind of reminds me of how people were treated when the King would visit. You peasants stand here until he shows up. Wonder if they’ll beat up anyone who dares faint from exhaustion.

Sadly I’m not sure that seat can be won by a real liberal. Even with liberal C’ville and Albemarle county. Even Emily Couric had to snuggle up to the wingers when she was in congress.

Dario–the primaries taught me alot also. I think I see the spin on both sides now. You know, maybe that is why Bill and Hillary are good with blue collar voters. I’m sure they recognized the crap long ago.

I can’t believe Big Dawg allegedly acted as Obama’s fall guy here. Besides pushing Meeks out of the race being a total punkass move, O’s not going to take the blame and Bill is going to bear the Dem wrath as the rac ist who dropped the hammer on Meeks. Damn, it’s not like Bill to get played like that. And for what? Crist?

And I can’t help but wonder how Obama snuggling up to both Crist and Meeks will benefit either of them. Since, Crist is still taking heat for those Obama hugs earlier this year.

It seems designed to nail Clinton….again…I thought that job offer stuff from the health care bill would have made him wary. Granted, no job was offered this time, but still Clinton is one who gets burned on this. While handing Rubio the prize.

And then he heads straight to Rhode Island, not to force Caprio, who’s being portrayed as a reactionary rac ist and more of a Repub than Linc ever was, out of the race, but to campaign for him. It seems like he couldn’t have been played any worse if he’d accepted the bad cop role in a play put on by Progressive Central Casting.

I’m not disillusioned into thinking that Bill Clinton is a Messiah like the Obots think/thought about Obama. He is a politician first and foremost. He is a damn good politician, but give me a politician in Washington who hasn’t done dirty political deals that most of us would disagree with. Clinton is doing Obama’s dirty work. Why I do not know yet, but it could be to get Obama and his friends in DC behind Hillary when she runs for president or to further whatever hidden agenda Bill Clinton has for his foundation or personal interests.

Somebody should really sue the Dems over their name. Truth in advertising, they should be known as Your Vote Doesn’t Count or Primary My Ass or Get the Hell Out of the Race Backdoor Deals Party or something. The UnParty?

Oh for god’s sake. I recall that Bill first met Kendrick while he was President and Meeks was in the Highway Patrol. They have been close for many, many years. You may recall that Kendrick sat with Bill at the Convention in the family section.

Clinton has been to Florida several times to raise money and to campaign for Kendrick, including just last week. Gore has also campaigned for Kendrick. When Bill was last there they discussed Kendrick leaving the race because his numbers didn’t look good and Rubio is so awful. They also discussed possible future options for Meek. Bill loves him like a son and wants what is best for Kendrick and his family. And as should alrleady be in evidence – Bill Clinton has never and would never advise any Democrat to drop out of a winable race.

He is not doing Obama’s “dirty work”. He would not do his dirty work. And there is no evidence whatsoever that Bill has a hidden agenda here about Hillary’s future.

If I wanted to read Clinton bashing shit I would go to DU. Why is it here?

I don’t think Clinton had some kind of shady agenda. However, I am totally against any attempt to maneuver anyone out of the race. If I believed in electability over democracy, I wouldn’t have a problem with Primary ’08. This type of thing absolutely isn’t the role of the party or the President, IMO. But mostly, I think it’s very unwise to be within a million miles of one of O’s shady schemes, because someone’s going to take the blame, and it ain’t gonna be him. This is practically designed to nail him, they’re going to try and make him look horrendous.

Kendrick Meek has had a press conference and denied all of it. He’s not dropping out. Good for him.

The reaction from Rubio is pretty good politics.

“Charlie Crist truly will say and do anything to get elected and hold on to power. Secret deals to trade away principles for power is already the problem in Washington, it’s not the solution. This is simply politics as usual which is exactly what voters across the country are emphatically rejecting this election.”

Facts Of Note:

* As of today, more than 1.7 million Floridians have already voted – approximately 1/3 of all likely voters (4.8 million Floridians voted in 2006, the last midterm election).

* As of yesterday, our internal tracking showed Crist and Meek in a statistical dead heat.

I think kos hired him in July or August to run an email list with “the power to influence policy and campaigns.” lol But, I guess he prefers the “Campaign Director” title to “Google Bomber” or “Email List Executive.”

My parents and in-laws are ALL conservative. They make fun of my bleeding heart.

Both of my parents are educated and worked in professional jobs but they both grew up in redneck towns with the values you write about Isis.

My family seems to love engaging in political discussions with me and they are NEVER demeaning (well – other than the bleeding heart thing) and are interested in my take on things. They seek out these conversations even if they stay rooted in the beliefs they have.

The rednecks aren’t a danger to this country. It is the wealthy conservatives (and conservatives in sheep’s clothing in the Democratic party) who are the real danger. They manipulate the media and message that keeps the majority of Americans ignorant of what is really happening in DC backrooms. I assure you that a good number of these Tea Party types and redneck conservatives could be persuaded to vote for a real Democrat. Give them a FDR type who can speak their language and deliver on the goods, and you will see many red states turn blue. People vote their self interest. When the Democratic Party has a timid leader who looks down at everyone outside of DC, NYC, and San Francisco, people are going to turn to anyone who will lead them, even if the person is Rush Limbaugh. The Democrats have no one to blame but themselves.

In NY, my strategy is somewhat easier. We have 3 Greens – running for Governor and the two senate seats. So, I’ll g vote the straight Green line. Where they don’t field a candidate, no vote.
Tpp bad about Carolyn Malloney – but – what Little Isis said about Meeks applies. Let Stupakistan vote for her.

Well done LittleSis….good topic and passionately written. Another aspect of your post also struck me….the essential humanity of all participants that day–fresh baked cookies, cat toys, and memories of grandma…. who we are and the opinions we hold are not always congruent…we are human…we make mistakes….all of us.

As far as liberals condecending: I’d have to say every liberal talk show host (I don’t follow TV or have cable) and the majority of their callers constantly use terms such as “stupid” or “low information voters” or “rightwing crazies” or “whack jobs” to describe the ultra right wing of the electorate.

I still find it hard not to use such terms. But every time I make the effort to make a thoughtful comment to someone’s forwarded piece of anti-left flame I feel a connection with the person and not the rhetoric. It’s a way for some to stay connected with friends and family who have taken a hard right tack.

Maybe not much, but we have to start somewhere. To disagree without always being hard assed disagreeable…..I’m working on it….LOL.

I have a good Hillary supporter to vote for as governor. He supported Hillary and has a woman running as his Lieutenant governor.
The guy who’s running for Senator is toast. He took out a competent woman based on time in the party. He’s loosing big to the GOP.
MY Congresswoman is on the ropes because she followed Pelosi as if she were attached to her butt. I’m going to hold my nose and vote for her because her opponent is a bank dick.

I’m going to sit this one out because none of them have earned the gift that is my vote.

Your little old lady reads O’Rielly and listens to Faux Spews because nature abhors a vacuum.

If the current iteration of the Democratic Party ever took the time to enunciate their positions on the problems facing America people would realize they are the republican party without the religious insanity.

There are two anecdotes I’d like to share:
The first supposedly happened during the Vietnam War protests. An anti-war group rewrote the first ten amendments to the Constitution and went around asking people on the street to read it then sign a petition demanding the government to adhere to them.
Most people refused.

The second anecdote is from a later time a questioner was circulated that listed positions on things from gun control to public assistance. The questions were written in such a way that the average person couldn’t determine if they were Liberal or Conservative ideas.
This time a majority of the peole who responded favored the Liberal positions.

ot–sort of, but I am really ticked off. Huffpo has the most misleading headline about Clinton and Meeks and so does The Politico. Bill was interviewed about it and said that he and Kendrick talk all the time and that he told him to do what he thought was right. Meeks is even quoted saying that Bill didn’t tell him to get out of the race. Yet, their headlines say Clinton pushed him to get out. Sorry if I’m being incoherent, but it does look like a set up and the actual story is different. I really loathe these people sometimes. Huffpo obviously went to the Rupert Murdoch journalism school.

They are worse than desperate–they are bottom feeding mud puppies. No offense to puppies. My sister had me look at the Drudge headline–it’s actually worse. You know, as soon as Bill starts getting good reviews these creeps have to knock him down. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Obama camp paid these scummy excuses for journalists to write this junk. The Politico story was by Ben Smith–the same Ben Smith who last summer wrote the story that the Clintons had no friends or something like that. Well–I better go to bed before my blood pressure explodes. night.

I hate it when people are so icky and gratuitously mean-spirited that I’m forced to sympathize with someone I don’t like.

From Gawker (natch):

I Had a One-Night Stand With Christine O’Donnell

Three years ago this week, an intoxicated Christine O’Donnell showed up at the apartment of a 25-year-old Philadelphian and ended up spending the night in his bed. Here’s his story—and photos—of his escapade with the would-be Delaware senator.

In choosing to publish this story, along with a series of photos of O’Donnell dressed in a racy ladybug costume for the Halloween she allegedly spent with the writer, Gawker walked a tricky editorial line. On the one hand, O’Donnell is a public figure who has opened herself up to media scrutiny and who has suggested that her strictly conservative social views would influence her governance. Delves into how she practices these values in her personal can be viewed as a service to voters.

Editorial questions arise, however, over whether the man who writes about her lying naked in his bed should be able to claim anonymity. Gawker gives readers no reason to believe that the writer didn’t make the entire thing up. Only after Forbes contacted Gawker after the post went live did editor Remy Stern confirm that the site had checked the piece out for veracity.

Atlantic actually claims that Gawker was performing a “service to voters” by publishing the story.

Good post. I wish I had 3rd party candidates to vote for, but the Dems and Repubs in WA state passed a “top 2” primary initiative, to obviously ensure that the only two candidates on the ballot were a Democrat and a Republican.

Thus, my goal of “voting the bums out” means that I will vote Republican, because I will not refrain from voting altogether because of what the two idiot parties have done. It truly doesn’t matter to me anymore which wins. They are equals.

I don’t know. I think it’s great to love your grandparents and value your roots to a point, but I have some seriously bad roots in my tree and don’t value them at all, except as lessons on what type of character I don’t aspire to have. It doesn’t matter what struggles my forebears faced or how much a product of the times they were. Some of them were racist and hateful, regardless of whether they baked cookies or bounced their grandchildren on their knees. Others among their peers were able to hold views that supported a basic respect for human rights. Their inability to do so was a failing I don’t cherish, and one that did great harm to humanity as a whole. I understand the intention of keeping a balanced, just perspective on the predominantly “good” natures of people, but just look at the rabid (and wide-spread) anti-immigrant, anti-muslim sentiment in this country and tell me that this springs from basically healthy roots. It doesn’t.

Love your post, littleisis. We grew up pretty similar. And I agree, Bev, sounds like most of the women I’ve known in my life. And why I guess no matter how hard I would try in the past, could not hang out with the other ones.

I want to share with you my story. I live in a small community, so small, if you blink, you’ll miss me.

Couple three or four years ago, an elderly lady invited
me to her Thrusday mornings coffee meet up. Yes,
they were women, all well into their eighties. Like me they lived in a little community, but they didn’t live a little life.All of them widowed, and one who had never married. Some were extremely religious,one was forever saying that the Good Lord never gives more than you can bear. Our conversations during those winter Thursday mornings, reminds me a little bit of what we have here at this site. We talked about it all, we talked about children, and we talked about Hillary. What really amazed me, is that those who were republicans voted for Hillary. They were brave women, and what I learned is that those women take care of each other, they get out, and travel, go fishing, take each other to the doctors, and share their lives, and I know that’s not too bad, after all is said and done, they have spent a life time taking care of STUFF. This will be the first winter that the group will stop meeting up. Family have come and removed several of them to other communities to live out their lives. They made the best of their lives, and I sat and I listened, and I love
everyone of them for sharing what life was for them,
and what was true for them, and the paths of their past.

That glass Hillary was talking about, their I was looking through it & breaking it up with a variety of little old ladies, and enjoying them, wondering now if at the end of my life,what will I be saying about myself, and the changes I made in my life, or maybe even the changes I should have made. I just have a feeling
like those old ladies, it will be said she done good.

Body: Last week I went down to Washington, D.C. to deliver a paper at a conference in the technical field where I worked, ten years or so and two or three careers ago, before the dot.com trash. The trip was solely an exercise in merit-making, since I doubt very much I'll get work in the field, but reconnecting with old friends was really great -- even […]

"Barrett Brown has been released from prison; WikiLeaks publishes to celebrate: Today, investigative journalist Barrett Brown has been released from FCI Three Rivers to a halfway house outside Dallas, earlier than initially scheduled. His parents picked him up from the federal prison to drive him six hours to his new residence. Brown's release come […]